Existing developer Clients reached out to ArtMade with a second site in Mittagong for 8 townhouses. The site has a wide street frontage and is surrounded by Council and Crown land. Towards the rear of the site is Council’s land which holds a substantial amount of unmaintained bush and trees, thereby making a major part of the site susceptible to bush fire.

The built form has been evolved to respond to bush fire. The Internal road has been proposed at the rear of the site accessing individual locked up garages. The garages have been located in the bushfire zone, acting as barrier to protect the rear yards and dwellings from the potential bushfire. The conventional approach is for the built form to be perpendicular to street. However, due to the shape of the site, the townhouses have been aligned to the angled side boundary for better configuration articulation towards the street frontage. The articulation has been further accentuated by gables protruding forward from the remainder of the façade.

The vision for the site was to have a multi dwelling design in ‘terrace style’. Each dwelling has direct access from the street, front yard, and a backyard.

All the townhouses feature an open plan living and an entry which accommodates a seating space. The townhouses have been designed as single residences with internal courtyards allowing the living areas to expand into the courtyard on one side and backyard on the other side. Furthermore, proposed skylights have been incorporated into the living spaces to ensure direct solar access.

The colour scheme and material palette chosen are simplistic and durable. As a result, reducing maintenance cost and allowing for ease of construction.

The challenge for this project was the bushfire component as it restricted the buildable area. The application is currently under assessment.